Faith & Law

Galatians 3:5 and following offers an insightful contrast between the life of faith and the role of law. The Apostle Paul points out that the ancient father of nations, Abraham, embodies the life of faith, having been declared righteous not because of any works on his part, but because he “believed God” (Galatians 3:6; Genesis 15:6). This READ MORE

Justification By Faith

“How then can man be in the right before God?” asked Job’s neighbor Bildad the Shuhite (Job 25:4). This question is as powerful today as when Bildad asked it some 4,000 years ago. In so many ways it is mankind’s attempts to answer this question that makes religion so difficult and divisive. One might easily make READ MORE

Worshippers Who Live Above & Beyond

This post finds us continuing in our series entitled, “Living Above & Beyond.” The purpose of the whole series, and this season in which we find ourselves at Bethel Church, is to equip us as followers of Jesus to live above and beyond material slavery, spiritual complancency, and small-minded eternal vision. We want God to READ MORE

A Christmas Prayer

One of the features of any Christmas celebration is the longing many of us have to carry the spirit of Christmas into the many long days and weeks and months that follow. How often is it that we think to ourselves that we want to experience the meaning of Christmas ten days out, or twenty, READ MORE

An Audacious Conviction: To Lead Like Christ

The mission of Bethel Church in Fargo, North Dakota, is to make disciples who live, love and lead like Christ. Indeed, it is our audacious conviction that this is the premier responsiblity that we have as a church, and, in fact, it is the premier responsibility of every church in every spot on the planet. READ MORE

The Verdict is In!

“Write This Down…” provides a restatement of selected points or observations from various teaching venues at which Pastor Matthew speaks. The following material is from Pastor Matthew’s sermon entitled, “The Verdict is In,” part of the sermon series “Memoirs of an Ancient Prophet: A Study of the Book of Daniel,” presented the weekend of February READ MORE